Commonwealth of Australia
 
Inclusion of ecological communities in the list of threatened ecological communities under section 181 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EC 126)
 
 
I, GREG HUNT, Minister for the Environment, pursuant to paragraph 184(1)(a) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, hereby amend the list referred to in section 181 of that Act by:
 
including in the list in the endangered category
 
Proteaceae Dominated Kwongkan Shrublands of the Southeast Coastal Floristic Province of Western Australia
as described in the Schedule to this instrument.
                                              
 
 
 
 
Dated this…..........15th .........................day of….............January...........................2014
 
 
 
 
 
 
Greg Hunt
 
 
GREG HUNT
Minister for the Environment
 
 
GH
SCHEDULE
 
Proteaceae Dominated Kwongkan Shrublands of the Southeast Coastal Floristic Province of Western Australia
 
The Proteaceae Dominated Kwongkan Shrublands of the Southeast Coastal Floristic Province of Western Australia ecological community is located on the south coast of Western Australia. Its boundary is the Southeast Coastal Floristic Province phytogeographic region. The boundary includes the Esperance Sandplains bioregion, but also takes in adjacent parts of the Mallee, Jarrah Forest, and other adjacent bioregions (Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) V7).
The ecological community occurs on sandplains and marine plains, occupying lower and upper slopes and ridges, as well as uplands. It typically occurs on duplex soils and deep to shallow soils on the sandplains; and on sandy soils to clay loam, gravelly loam and loam on quartzite (e.g. The Barrens, Stirlings and Russell Range) and greenstone ranges (e.g. Ravensthorpe Range).
The structure of the vegetation is that of a shrubland, ranging from low to high, and can form dense thickets or be relatively open due to variation in soils and landscape position, or due to disturbance history (e.g. fire). Mallee eucalypts may be present at varying densities, but providing the minimum Proteaceae cover is present, the ecological community is still recognised.
Widespread Proteaceae species within the ecological community include Adenanthos cuneatus (coastal jugflower), Banksia alliacea, B. armata (prickly dryandra), B. baxteri (Baxter's banksia), B. cirsioides, B. coccinea (scarlet banksia), B. media (southern plains banksia), B. nutans (nodding banskia), B. obovata (wedge-leaved dryandra), B. sessilis (parrot bush), B. speciosa (showy banksia), B. tenuis, Hakea cucullata (hood-leaved or scallop hakea), H. corymbosa (cauliflower hakea), H. denticulata, H. ferruginea, H. obliqua (needles and corks), H. pandanicarpa, and Lambertia inermis (chittick).
Widespread species from other families include Beaufortia empetrifolia (Myrtaceae), Calothamnus gracilis (Myrtaceae), Melaleuca striata (Myrtaceae), Taxandria spathulata (Myrtaceae) and Xanthorrhoea platyphylla (Xanthorrhoeaceae). Typical mallee eucalypts within the ecological community include Eucalyptus acies (woolburnup mallee), E. buprestium, E. decipiens, E. doratoxylon (spearwood mallee), E. ecostata, E. extrica, E. lehmannii (bushy yate), E. pleurocarpa (tallerack), E. preissiana (bell-fruited mallee) and E. staeri (Albany blackbutt).
The key diagnostic characteristics for the ecological community are:
1)  Occurs within the Southeast Coastal Floristic Province (includes the islands of the Recherche Archipelago); AND
2a)  Characterised by Proteaceae species having 30% or greater cover of Proteaceae species across all layers where these shrubs occur (crowns measured as if they are opaque); OR
2b)  Two or more diagnostic Proteaceae species are present that are likely to form a significant vegetative component when regenerated (see list of diagnostic species in the Conservation Advice). The use of diagnostic species is for situations in which the cover of Proteaceae species is reduced due to recent disturbance (e.g. fire).